Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 37:24
And David my servant [shall be] king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
24. David my servant ] Cf. Eze 34:23-24. Here the term “king” is applied to the ruler of the future ( Eze 37:22); in other places “prince.” The words seem used indifferently, cf. Eze 19:1, Eze 22:25. Cf. Eze 36:27.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 24. And David my servant shall be King] That this refers to Jesus Christ, see proved, Eze 34:23.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
David: see Eze 34:23,24. It is the Son of David, who was also his Lord, that is here intended. My servant: the Messiah, in his mediatory office, is Gods servant and our Saviour.
Over them; over their hearts, and rule there in spiritual manner.
One shepherd; this King shall be a Shepherd, that feeds, not fleeceth, the flock; there is but one chief Shepherd, others that feed and rule the flock are so by commission from him.
They shall also walk, & c.: it is both declaratory of duty, predictive of the event, and promissory of ability and assistance to keep the holy commandments of God. Christs kingdom is that which by law and precept commandeth righteousness, and which by grace and power strengthens its subjects to this, and so the event is sure, and freest grace makes holiest lives.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
24. DavidMessiah (See on Eze34:23, 24).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And David my servant shall be king over them,…. The King Messiah, as Kimchi interprets it; and so Abarbinel i and others; being of the seed of David, and of whom David was an eminent type; and who, as Mediator, is the Lord’s servant, and as man appeared in the form of one: this shows that this prophecy looks further than the times of deliverance from the Babylonish captivity:
and they all shall have one shepherd: or king, the same as before: kings are called shepherds; see Eze 34:23:
and they shall also walk in my judgments, and keep my statutes, and do them; not the statutes and ordinances of the ceremonial law, which are abolished; and which the Jews, when converted, shall have no regard unto; but rather the precepts of the moral law, and chiefly the evangelic ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s supper; which ordinances they shall walk in, and attend unto with constancy and pleasure; and which statutes they shall keep, as they have been delivered, impartially, without delay, in faith and love, and with a view to the glory of God; see Eze 36:27.
i Mashmiah Jeshuah, fol. 47. 4. Vid. Sepher Ikkarim, l. 2. c. 28.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(24) David my servant.Here, as in Eze. 34:23-24, David personally is described as their one king and shepherd. (See the Note there.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
The Future, Both Temporal and Eternal.
“And my servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will also walk in my judgments and observe my statutes, and do them. And they will dwell in the land which I have given to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers dwelt. And they will dwell in it, they, and their children, and their children’s children, for ever. And David my servant will be their prince for ever.”
This verse is very important in determining our view of what exactly Ezekiel’s prophecy is all about and how to view it. It stresses that ‘they will dwell in the land which I have given to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers dwelt’. This would seem to make crystal clear that it is speaking of the actual land of Israel. That was what was given to Jacob. Their fathers dwelt in it. So it might be asked, what could be clearer?
But then it goes on to say that they will dwell in it for ever, and that David will be their prince for ever. Now we can understand Ezekiel, with no concept of eternity, thinking in terms of everything going on without changing, into millennium after millenium, and never ceasing. (Although he certainly does not have in mind here a mere millennium). So we must either see this as teaching that this world will go on forever, unchanging, or we must recognise that there is here something here that goes beyond Ezekiel’s ability to conceive and which he can only express vaguely in idealistic terms. He knew that they would return to the land, and he knew that they would find everlasting rest. And he combined the two pictures together, because he had no other way of emphasising that God’s people would dwell in a place given to them by God for ever.
Thus from our viewpoint we must say that the first aspect will become literally true, they will return to the land, and the second aspect is his way of describing what is beyond his ability to conceive, the eternal future. He knows that God’s people will enjoy everlasting peace and rest, and that God will always have ‘a land’ available for His people.
So we would argue that it is quite clear that the near partial fulfilment of this took place when Israel were again gathered in Jerusalem with a temporal Davidic king over them (Zerubbabel), who was called ‘My servant’ (Hag 2:23), and rejoiced in the triumph of God, the ‘day of small things’ (Zec 4:6-14), and when (for a time) they turned back to His ways. That it went on when Jesus, the son of David, became Shepherd of His people and led them into the ways of truth and righteousness and began to establish the Kingly Rule of God. And that it finally goes on to reveal that this will in the end result in a perfect existence in an eternal land, where God’s will will always be done and an eternal king will rule over them
For in the end it is quite clear that the everlasting kingdom is in mind here, the everlasting kingdom ruled over by an everlasting king, and resulting in everlasting obedience. Living in ‘the land’ has been changed into something idealised, something far better for them to enjoy; and it is eternal, as is David their prince. It is Ezekiel’s way of portraying the glory of ‘the new earth’ in the only terms available to him. They would be given all that God had promised, and more, under an eternal ruler, (compare Dan 7:14. No earthly millennium could fulfil this promise). This is thus clearly an ‘idealistic future’, expressed in the terminology of his day, but awaiting further revelation.
We can compare here the words of the writer to the Hebrews about Abraham. He tells us that Abraham dwelt ‘in the land of promise’, but that he ‘looked for a city which has foundations whose builder and maker is God’ (Heb 11:10). He is crystallising what was probably a vague thought in the mind of Abraham. There is the near view and the far view. It gives a more practical explanation of what Abraham vaguely looked for, a hope that he could not fully understand, and that he would have been totally unable to describe. On his part he just believed that God had a future for him, a future he could not put into words.
The portrayal of the coming eternal king as ‘my servant’ and ‘one shepherd’ portrayed the coming of God’s chosen one who was both faithful to God and would watch over His people.
‘My servant’ was a distinguished title and ever the description of the specially chosen of Yahweh. It was used:
of Abraham in Gen 26:24;
of Moses in Num 12:7-8; Mal 4:4; Jos 1:2 and often as ‘the servant of Yahweh’ in Joshua, also in 2Ki 18:12; 2Ch 1:3 ; 2Ch 24:6;
of Caleb in Num 14:24;
of Joshua (as ‘the servant of Yahweh’) in Jos 24:29; Jdg 2:8;
of David in Eze 34:23-24; 2Sa 3:18; 2Sa 7:5; 2Sa 7:8; 1Ki 11:13; 1Ki 11:32; 1Ki 11:34; 1Ki 11:36; 1Ki 11:38 ; 1Ki 14:8; Psa 89:3; Psa 89:20; Isa 37:5; Jer 33:21; and often in Kings and Chronicles;
of Job in Job 1:8; Job 2:3; Job 42:7-8;
of Isaiah in Isa 20:3;
of Eliakim the son of Hilkiah in Isa 22:20;
of Israel as chosen witnesses in Isa 41:8-9; Isa 42:1; Isa 42:19; Isa 43:10; Isa 44:1-2; Isa 44:21; Isa 45:4; Isa 49:3; Isa 49:6; Jer 30:10; and often;
of the Servant of Yahweh in Isa 42:1; Isa 49:3; Isa 49:6; Isa 52:13;
of ‘my servants the prophets’ in Jer 7:25; Jer 26:5; and often; Ezekiel 38:37; Zec 1:6;
of Zerubbabel in Hag 2:23, where he is specifically stated to be the chosen of Yahweh;
of ‘the Branch’ in Zec 3:8; compare Jer 23:5; Jer 33:15;
and even (temporarily) of Nebuchadnezzar in Jer 25:9; Jer 27:6 as the one chosen to bring His judgment on Jerusalem.
But only Moses and David were spoken of as ‘my servant’ after their deaths. They were seen as His servants par excellence, and they were the archetype of God’s perfect Servant (Isa 52:13 to Isa 53:12). This ties in with the fact that another Moses (Deu 18:18) and another David (Eze 34:23-24 compare 1Ki 9:5; Isa 9:7; Isa 11:1-5; Hos 3:5; Jer 23:5; Jer 30:9; Jer 33:15; Jer 33:17; Jer 33:20-26; Zec 12:10 to Zec 13:1) were expected to come in the future, a new lawgiver and a new king, a promise fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
The ‘one shepherd’ represents the new David (Eze 34:23) acting in cooperation with Yahweh (Eze 34:13-16; Psa 23:1; Psa 80:1; Isa 40:11). The idea of a shepherd was regularly applied to Near Eastern kings (compare 1Ki 22:17) who liked to see themselves as benefactors to their people, even when they were far from being so, and Yahweh described Cyrus as His shepherd because he would perform His pleasure as regards Israel (Isaiah 34:28). But the son of David would be the true shepherd, Yahweh’s shepherd (even though he would be smitten while caring for the sheep (Zec 13:7) and would care for them for ever.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eze 37:24 And David my servant [shall be] king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
Ver. 24. And David my servant, ] i.e., Christ, who came to do the will of his Father in the shape of a servant. Php 2:7 Isa 42:1
And they shall all have one shepherd.
They shall also walk in my judgments.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Eze 37:24-28
24My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them. 25They will live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons’ sons, forever; and David My servant will be their prince forever. 26I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever. 27My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. 28And the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.’
Eze 37:24 My servant David will be king over them This is a Messianic title and shows the new-covenant focus of this context (cf. Eze 34:23-24; Isa 55:3-5; Jer 30:9; Hos 3:5). See Special Topic: OT Titles of the Special Coming One .
It is surely possible that a new Davidic ruler, with a heart towards YHWH, will be manifested in order to fulfill 2Sa 7:16; Psalms 89; and Gen 49:10! This ideal, godly king became a rallying hope for a godly people and the fulfillment of the conditional covenant promises. David was sinful, yet forgiven, so too, Israel! Restoration and salvation are the work of God (i.e., new heart and new spirit), but the new covenant must be received and walked in!
they will walk in My ordinances, and keep My statutes, and observe them For the terms ordinances (BDB 1048) and statutes (BDB 349) see the Special Topic: Terms for God’s Revelation .
The VERB walk (BDB 229, KB 246, Qal IMPERFECT) denotes a lifestyle obedience, as do the next two VERBS.
1. keep, BDB 1036, KB 1581, Qal IMPERFECT
2. observe, BDB 793, KB 889, Qal PERFECT
God’s covenant people will be an obedient, godly people. This does not denote sinlessness, but a heart for God and His word (cf. 1Jn 3:6; 1Jn 3:9). By their fruits you shall know them (Mat 7:15-23, i.e., false prophets).
Eze 37:25-26 forever. . .everlasting. . .forever This word (BDB 761) must be dealt with in context (cf. Eze 37:28) and it seems to imply the eternal kingdom, as in the book of Daniel (cf. Dan 7:14). It seems inappropriate to use this for the return from the exile (i.e., post-exilic period) or for the millennium (Revelation 20).
SPECIAL TOPIC: FOREVER (‘OLAM)
One Greek idiomatic phrase is unto the ages (cf. Luk 1:33; Rom 1:25; Rom 11:36; Rom 16:27; Gal 1:5; 1Ti 1:17), which may reflect the Hebrew ‘olam. See Robert B. Girdlestone, Synonyms of the Old Testament, pp. 321-319. Other related phrases are unto the age (cf. Mat 21:19 [Mar 11:14]; Thess. 1:55; Joh 6:58; Joh 8:35; Joh 12:34; Joh 13:8; Joh 14:16; 2Co 9:9) and of the age of the ages (cf. Eph 3:21). There seems to be no distinction between these idioms for forever. The term ages may be plural in a figurative sense of the rabbinical grammatical construction called the plural of majesty or it may refer to the concept of several ages in the Jewish sense of age of innocence, age of wickedness, age to come, or age of righteousness.
Eze 37:26 a covenant of peace This same period of restoration is discussed in chapts. 16 and 20. For the term covenant, see Special Topic: Covenant . The full phrase covenant of peace is mentioned in Eze 34:25. The covenant of peace is contingent on repentance, trust/faith/belief, obedience, and perseverance, as is the new covenant fully clarified in the NT. It is free from a sovereign God, but it has requirements! The very concept of covenant implies responsibilities on both parties!
NASBAnd I will place them and multiply them
NKJVI will establish them and multiply them
NRSVand I will bless them and multiply them
TEVI will establish them and increase their population
NJBI will resettle them and make them grow
LXX—-omits—-
PESHITTAand I will multiply them
The VERB give or set (BDB 678, KB 733, Qal PERFECT with waw) is repeated twice. It seems that the LXX translators left out an entire phrase.
The MT has set or establish, but NRSV changes the VERB to bless. The UBS Hebrew OT Text Project gives set a B rating (some doubt).
an everlasting covenant The NIV Study Bible, p. 1279, has a good footnote about this. It is used sixteen times in the OT. Here are some examples.
1. Noah, Gen 9:16
2. Abraham, Gen 17:7; Gen 17:13; Gen 17:19 (cf. Psa 105:9-10)
3. David, 2Sa 23:5 (cf. Eze 7:12; Isa 55:3)
4. the new covenant, Jer 32:40 (cf. Jer 31:31-34; Jer 50:5)
5. earlier in Ezekiel, Eze 16:60
6. new Israel, Isa 61:8
It is found most often in Isaiah (cf. Isa 24:5; Isa 55:3; Isa 61:8).
Eze 37:28 God wants a righteous people who reflect His character to the nations. Israel was meant to be a kingdom of priests (cf. Exo 19:5-6), but this wonderful call turned into an elitism! The goal of creation is not Israel, but the whole world in fellowship with its Creator. Monotheism cannot become a weapon of exclusivism. It must become a promise of inclusion!
I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel YHWH transfers His holiness to His people (cf. Eze 20:12). They are holy because of their relationship to Him. Now this positional sanctification must become fleshed out. See Special Topic at Eze 20:12.
when My sanctuary is in their midst forever YHWH’s sanctuary was abandoned by Him in chapters 8-10. Now Ezekiel asserts it will return to a sanctified, united Israel under a new Davidic ruler. Chapters 40-48 are a graphic symbol of this new day. This may be an allusion to Exo 25:8.
However, as the temple was central in the OT, Jesus, the true temple, becomes central in the NT (cf. Mat 26:61; Mat 27:40; Mar 14:58; Mar 15:29; Joh 2:19; Act 6:14). You may say to yourself, why bring Jesus into Ezekiel? He is the fulfillment of the OT. It is no longer about Israel (cf. Joh 8:31-59). These OT symbols and prophecies have their ultimate fulfillment and expansion through Him!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
1. How do Ezekiel 36, 37 relate to the people of Ezekiel’s day?
2. How do they relate to end-time events?
3. Why are Deuteronomy 27, 28 such important passages?
4. Explain what Eze 36:27 means when it says, I will put My Spirit within them.
5. Summarize Ezekiel 37 in one sentence in your own words.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
David My servant = Hebrew My servant David. Occurs five times (Eze 34:23, Eze 34:24; Eze 37:24. 1Ki 11:32; 1Ki 14:8). In Eze 37:25 and 2Sa 3:18 tis (in Hebrew) “David My servant” (though the Authorized Version there renders it “My servant David”).
shepherd = ruler.
judgments . . . statutes. See note on Deu 4:1.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Eze 37:24-28
Eze 37:24-28
“And my servant David shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in mine ordinances, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, they, and their children, and their children’s children, forever: and David my servant shall be their prince forever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them: it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanc, tuary in the midst of them forevermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the nations shall know that I am Jehovah that sanctifieth Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forevermore.”
“And my servant David shall be king over them … forever …” (Eze 37:24; Eze 37:26). “This can be no other than Christ, of whom it was said when he was brought into the world, `He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever’ (Luk 1:33).
“The Messiah is here called `David,’ because he shall be of the seed of David. The first verse of the New Testament flatly declares that Jesus Christ is the seed of David and the seed of Abraham. “Son of David” was the universal title by which the Coming Messiah was identified in Israel in the times of Christ, not only among the Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians (Mat 22:42), but also by the blind men (Mat 9:27), the common people (Mat 12:23), and even the stranger from Tyre and Sidon, the Syro-Phoenician woman who came to Jesus on behalf of her daughter, even she addressed the Messiah as “Thou son of David” (Mat 15:22). The whole world of that era knew this was the true title of the Coming Messiah of Israel. The problem was that the Jews of that generation did not want the kind of Messiah they knew Jesus to be; they rejected him and had him crucified. The Jewish leaders of that period in Jewish history passionately wanted, more than anything else in heaven or upon earth, a successful general, sitting on a white horse leading an army, who would chase the Romans out of their land and restore to them that dirty old Solomonic empire, which, when they had it, became the scandal of forty generations!
“And they shall dwell in the land …” (Eze 37:25) Any fair reading of these verses indicates that God’s promise actually meant that they would continue to live in Palestine generation after generation, children and children’s children forever and ever under that Messianic king, the Son of David. Is it still going to happen? Why should it? Read Jer 18:7-10 for the correct answer.
“David shall be their prince forever …” (Eze 37:25). It should not be overlooked that, “‘Prince’ was Ezekiel’s normal word for `King.'”
“And I will make a covenant of peace …” (Eze 37:26). We have already noted in earlier chapters that this `covenant of peace,’ “Is none other than the New Covenant of Jer 31:31-34; it will be an everlasting covenant as well. It will not be founded on national or racial considerations of any kind whatever. The whole thesis of Ezekiel is that God holds men accountable, individually, and not as nations or races.
“I will … set my sanctuary in the midst of them. My tabernacle also shall be with them …” (Eze 37:26-27). Of course, such a thing as this never happened in post-exilic Israel; but the Lord did not intend this verse as a prophecy that it would happen. “The thing promised is nothing less than the kingdom of God to be set up among them.” Did it happen? Most certainly it did. In the midst of them? Yes, in Jerusalem itself. On the Day of Pentecost, the word of the Lord “went forth from Jerusalem,” as the prophets had foretold.
It will shock some people that these marvelous prophecies are here presented as applicable solely to the reign of Jesus Christ the true Messiah and the kingdom which he established; but as Plumptre stated it: “The only feasible exegesis is that which understands Jehovah’s servant David here to be the Messiah, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the writer of Hebrews said, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever (Heb 1:8).
“And the nations shall know that I am Jehovah …” (Eze 37:28). Although this came to pass in a very significant degree, it is regrettable that all nations did not become followers of Christ, a very regrettable fact, no doubt due in part, to the unwillingness of racial Israel to accept and fully discharge her mission of accepting the Dayspring when he entered our earth life and taking the lead in inviting all the world to worship and adore him. Contrary to this fundamental purpose in the very existence of Israel, they not only rejected him and shouted for his crucifixion, but they opposed the work of the apostles, threatened to exterminate all of them, and hounded the missionaries of Christ all over Europe, until God removed, absolutely, their ability to be any further hindrance. We pity the Bible students who suppose that God still owes racial Israel anything whatever, based solely upon their being the fleshly residue of the posterity of Abraham. Neither the Holy Scriptures nor the demands of eternal justice can be supposed to teach any such thing.
Dry Bones, New Life – Eze 37:1-28
Open It
1. When have you been separated from your loved ones for an extended period of time?
2. What is one of the most hopeless circumstances in which youve ever found yourself?
Explore It
3. What strange sight was Ezekiel shown in a vision? (Eze 37:1-2)
4. What question did the Lord ask of Ezekiel, and how did he answer? (Eze 37:3)
5. What did God promise to do with the dry bones? (Eze 37:4-6)
6. What happened as Ezekiel began to prophesy to the bones, as God had commanded? (Eze 37:7-8)
7. How did the restored bodies begin to breathe again? (Eze 37:9-10)
8. What saying of the people had given rise to the image of “dry bones”? (Eze 37:11)
9. What did God explain to Ezekiel about the meaning of the vision of the valley of dry bones? (Eze 37:11-12)
10. What would Gods people know and receive when God acted in their behalf? (Eze 37:13-14)
11. What visual demonstration did God tell Ezekiel to do with two sticks? (Eze 37:15-17)
12. What good news was contained in Ezekiels symbolic action with two sticks? (Eze 37:18-22)
13. What sins would God cleanse in order to make Israel His people again? (Eze 37:23)
14. According to the prophecy, how was Israels relationship to God and Gods treatment of them going to change? (Eze 37:24-28)
Get It
15. What images come to mind about a nation of people symbolized by dry bones?
16. What did Ezekiel have to know about God in order to see potential in the dry bones?
17. What are some key features of the reign of “David” (the Messiah)?
18. Why is it desirable to have Jehovah God dwell (live) with us?
19. In what areas of your community do you see the need for reunification among individuals or groups?
Apply It
20. What habits can you cultivate that will make you more likely to see hopeless situations from Gods perspective?
21. What division between people or nations can you make a matter of earnest prayer this week?
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
David: Eze 37:25, Isa 55:3, Isa 55:4, Jer 23:5, Jer 30:9, Hos 3:5, Luk 1:32
one: Eze 37:22, Eze 34:23, Eze 34:24, Psa 78:71, Psa 78:72, Psa 80:1, Ecc 12:11, Isa 40:11, Mic 5:2, Mic 5:4, Zec 13:7, Joh 10:11, Joh 10:14-16, Eph 4:4-6, Heb 13:20, 1Pe 5:4
they shall: Eze 36:27, Deu 30:6, Jer 31:33, Jer 32:39, 1Co 11:2, Eph 2:10, Phi 2:12, Phi 2:13, Tit 2:11-13, Tit 3:3-8, 1Jo 2:6
Reciprocal: Gen 28:13 – the land Lev 18:4 – General Num 27:16 – set a man Deu 4:1 – unto the statutes Deu 5:32 – observe Deu 6:1 – the commandments Deu 12:28 – General Deu 30:8 – General 2Sa 5:2 – feed 2Ch 10:16 – David Psa 89:29 – throne Isa 1:26 – And I will Isa 29:22 – Jacob shall Isa 37:35 – and for Jer 3:15 – And I Jer 23:6 – Judah Jer 30:21 – governor Jer 31:10 – and keep Jer 33:22 – so Eze 18:9 – walked Eze 20:19 – walk Eze 21:27 – until Eze 45:7 – General Eze 48:21 – the residue Dan 12:1 – the great Amo 9:11 – raise Zep 3:15 – the king Zec 1:16 – I am Zec 3:8 – my Zec 12:8 – the house Mat 2:6 – rule Mat 21:5 – thy King Mat 25:34 – the King Mar 11:10 – the kingdom Luk 1:69 – in Joh 3:10 – and knowest Joh 12:34 – Christ Act 1:6 – restore Act 13:22 – he raised Act 13:34 – the sure Act 26:6 – the promise 1Pe 2:25 – the Shepherd
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Eze 37:24. The comment has been made (verse 16) that some things in this chapter would apply to both fleshly and spiritual Israel. The remainder of the chapter is a prominent specimen of that truth. In a general sense this group of verses applies to fleshly Israel restored to the land of Palestine with Jerusalem as the capital. Because of this the reference is made to David since Jerusalem was his capital. Also because under his one capital ail the 12 tribes were to be ruled after the return from Babylon. And it applies more significantly to spiritual Israel because David was the ancestor of Christ who was to be king and shepherd over all the flock of God.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
God’s servant David would rule over the Jews and be their king (Eze 34:24; 2Sa 7:13; 2Sa 7:16; Jer 30:9; Hos 3:5). They would have only one king who would shepherd them so that they would follow the Lord faithfully (cf. Exo 19:5-6; Lev 26:12; Deu 7:6; Deu 14:2; Deu 14:21; Deu 26:18-19; Deu 27:9; Jer 30:22; Jer 31:33; Jer 32:38). They would live in the Promised Land forever, and the Lord’s servant David would be their appointed ruler forever. In view of God’s promise to David in 2Sa 7:12-13, this must refer to the Son of David, Messiah. In sum, Israel will enjoy three new realities: a new commitment to Yahweh’s will (Eze 37:24 b), occupation of her hereditary homeland forever (Eze 37:25 a), and the rule of David forever (Eze 37:25 b).